Benjamin Rush
"The only foundation for...a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments." Political Party: Federalist Representing Pennsylvania at the constitutional convention. PA was founded by Quakers and maintained the friendly, Quaker environment that they had established in the beginning. It had a diverse array of features including mountains, farm land, and four major rivers. They experienced cold winters and hot summers like many of the middle colonies. As far as the economy goes, they relied on a variety of jobs too. There were farmers, manufacturers, and traders mostly. Religion was important as it was founded on religious freedom. All people were accepted in Pennsylvania so the residents were diverse. There were Indians, Irish, German, English, and a small amount of slaves despite the efforts to keep slavery out of the state. Background/Occupation: Rush was the middle child of seven. His father passed away when he was five, leaving his mother to care for her many children. He grew up in Byberry Township, just outside of Philadelphia. They were a religious family and they attended a Presbyterian church in the city. He was influenced by the Calvinist teachings of his minister, Gilbert Tennent. He attended college at Princeton, graduated at 15, and was quadrilingual at 24. He joined the military in 1777 as a Surgeon-General, but left a year later because he felt that it was corrupt. He Rush was an active member of the sons of liberty. Benjamin Rush was the most renowned physician of the 19th century, known as the "Father of American Medicine". He studied the technique of bleeding illnesses out of people, and also certain types of mental illnesses. He was a part of the Pennsylvania Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prison. He also founded Dickinson University. He was a part of writing the federalist papers, specifically #10. Constitutional Convention: He was a part of the constitutional convention. He believed that ratifying the constitution would keep a strong central government that would keep the country together and strong. In ratifying the constitution he believed it would support businesses, and fix the economic state of the country after the war. Rush and Franklin were the only two people at the convention that were openly against slavery and pushed to talk about the issue at the meeting. He was a firm believer that a small country would be vulnerable to tyranny. He wanted a larger country so that there would be a more balanced government. He was elected to the ratifying convention. He and James Wilson later suggested modifications to the constitutions that made it a better governing document. Friends: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Wilson, Thomas Paine, Ben Franklin, John Dickinson Foes: George Washington, William Shippen Jr., John Morgan
"The only foundation for...a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments."
Political Party: Federalist
Representing Pennsylvania at the constitutional convention. PA was founded by Quakers and maintained the friendly, Quaker environment that they had established in the beginning. It had a diverse array of features including mountains, farm land, and four major rivers. They experienced cold winters and hot summers like many of the middle colonies. As far as the economy goes, they relied on a variety of jobs too. There were farmers, manufacturers, and traders mostly. Religion was important as it was founded on religious freedom. All people were accepted in Pennsylvania so the residents were diverse. There were Indians, Irish, German, English, and a small amount of slaves despite the efforts to keep slavery out of the state.
Background/Occupation: Rush was the middle child of seven. His father passed away when he was five, leaving his mother to care for her many children. He grew up in Byberry Township, just outside of Philadelphia. They were a religious family and they attended a Presbyterian church in the city. He was influenced by the Calvinist teachings of his minister, Gilbert Tennent. He attended college at Princeton, graduated at 15, and was quadrilingual at 24. He joined the military in 1777 as a Surgeon-General, but left a year later because he felt that it was corrupt. He Rush was an active member of the sons of liberty. Benjamin Rush was the most renowned physician of the 19th century, known as the "Father of American Medicine". He studied the technique of bleeding illnesses out of people, and also certain types of mental illnesses. He was a part of the Pennsylvania Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prison. He also founded Dickinson University. He was a part of writing the federalist papers, specifically #10.
Constitutional Convention: He was a part of the constitutional convention. He believed that ratifying the constitution would keep a strong central government that would keep the country together and strong. In ratifying the constitution he believed it would support businesses, and fix the economic state of the country after the war. Rush and Franklin were the only two people at the convention that were openly against slavery and pushed to talk about the issue at the meeting. He was a firm believer that a small country would be vulnerable to tyranny. He wanted a larger country so that there would be a more balanced government. He was elected to the ratifying convention. He and James Wilson later suggested modifications to the constitutions that made it a better governing document.
Friends: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Wilson, Thomas Paine, Ben Franklin, John Dickinson
Foes: George Washington, William Shippen Jr., John Morgan
Works Cited
"Benjamin Rush." UUA Server for Other Organizations' Web Sites. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/benjaminrush.html>.
"Biography of Benjamin Rush, page 1 | Colonial Hall." Colonial Hall: Biographies of America's Founding Fathers. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://colonialhall.com/rush/rush.php>.
Sass, Regina. "About Colonial Pennsylvania Family Life | eHow.com." eHow | How to Videos, Articles & More - Trusted Advice for the Curious Life | eHow.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.ehow.com/about_4569042_colonial-pennsylvania-family-life.html>.
TOPIC. "Benjamin Rush (1746-1813), University of Pennsylvania University Archives." University Archives and Records Center, University of Pennsylvania University Archives. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.archives.upenn.edu/people/1700s/rush_benj.html>.
*times, the colonial, and most educated people in the Western world were. "Primary Source Documents." Index. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.constitution.org/primarysources/primarysources.html>.